Udaipur girl youngest participant to join European Peace Walk

The European Peace Walk is a 500-km trek through six countries.

An Udaipur couple, who wanted their 13-year-old daughter to explore the world outside Facebook and Twitter, registered her for the European Peace Walk, a 500-km trek through six countries.

Udaipur’s Tanya Rathi was the youngest participant in this year’s walk through the European countries, which ended on June 22.

Tanya, a Class 8 student of the Delhi Public School, completed the walk from Sopron in Hungary to Trieste in Italy in 17 days, said her father Vinay Rathi who accompanied her.

“There were times when we had breakfast, lunch and dinner in three different countries as we jumped borders,” said the teenager who returned to the lake city on Wednesday.

The European Peace Walk began 100 years ago in honour of the history of World War I. The walk’s concept of crossing borders is paramount. One day the walkers had breakfast in Hungary, lunch in Slovenia and slept in a Croatian brewery.

Tanya’s mother Sonal said the registration fee was 60 USD and walkers pay for all expenses along the way.

“It is a unique walkathon during which the walkers from different countries spend more than two weeks together to exchange cultures,” Tanya said, adding that her father heard about the walk from a friend who participated in it last year.

Tanya and her father were the Indians in this year’s walk in which 68 members participated. They left Udaipur on June 3 and the trail began two days later.

“It took us 17 days to complete the trail through Hungry, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia and Italy. We walked about 25km a day and came across many adorable sites, and had unforgettable experiences by taking a fair chance to observe the rich heritage and diverse culture of Europe,” Tanya told HT.